Local News

Wild dogs pose threat to livestock

By Arusha Times Correspondent

From The Arusha Times

Once said to be threatened and fast diminishing, packs of wild dogs are now on the loose in parts of Arusha region, preying on the livestock.

Animal herders in the affected areas are making urgent calls for assistance from the game wardens to contain the ferocious animals which kill their herds.

Villagers in Arumeru district told reporters at Ngarenyuki recently that cases of wild dog attacks have increased in recent months.

They are now worried that young boys normally looking after the herds could also fall prey to the wild dogs which attack in packs.

The problem is more pronounced at Ngarenanyuki village on the northern slopes of Mt. Meru and in the open plains between the area and Longido.

Solomon Nguboba (31) said the frequency of attacks against the livestock has worsened since the beginning of the dry season this year.

He could not give the figures of the livestock recently killed in the area but said he himself has lost five goats and one cow in the last three months.

HIs neighbours have also lost scores of their domestic animals. The traditional pastoralists in Arusha and northern regions normally avoid talking of figures of their animals.

Mr.Thomas Ole Natii from Uwiro sub-village said wild dogs normally attack in packs of 20 to 40 and were threatening people.

"They simply scare away boys looking after livestock"he said, adding that they often target goats and sheep. Attacks by leopards have also increased in the recent past.

Most villagers attribute the problem to the diminishing number of wild grazing animals in the Maasai plains which the dogs feed on and the substantial increase in the once threatened wild dog population.

When contacted Mr. Dawson Urio, the chairman of Uwiro sub village admitted the problem has worsened in the last few months but said no immediate solution was in sight.

"We have been telling wananchi and game scouts to simply drive them (wild dogs) away. There is no programme to kill them",he pointed out.

The village leader added that wild dogs have been categorised as endangered animals and, therefore, cannot be killed indiscriminately.

They were not frequently seen until very recently.The animals are said to use the wildlife corridor linking the Arusha National Park (Anapa), a few kilometres from the village and the Amboseli NP in Kenya.

According to Dr. Julius Keyyu of the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (Tawiri), the population of wild dogs in the country has picked up after they were nearly wiped out by rabies in the 1990s.

Their population is reported to have increased in much of nothern Tanzania, including within the Serengeti NP and its vast ecosystem. However, other wildlife experts have admitted that the animals are threatened by human activities and that national parks and other protected areas were "too small" for them.